Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Story ballets then and now: ABT puts on a rock solid GISELLE and premieres Christopher Wheeldon’s THE WINTER’S TALE

• By drediman
• July 2, 2025
• No Comments

Over the past few days, I was able to take in a pair of American Ballet Theatre’s full length story ballets — one representing the classic gold standard, the other a more modern, cinematic approach to storytelling. As per usual, read on for my thoughts.

GISELLE
American Ballet Theatre at The Metropolitan Opera
Closed

First up was Ballet Theatre’s production of Giselle (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), the romantic classical ballet that’s pretty much universally beloved by dance fans. Kevin McKenzie’s thoughtfully judged 1998 production is one of the company’s very best, and assessing from Saturday afternoon’s rock solid performance, it’s in excellent shape. The principals were fantastic, starting with Devon Teuscher in the title role, who stepped in for an indisposed Catherine Hurlin. Teuscher is currently dancing at the peak of her powers. She’s completely at home with her dancing, and it showed in a performance that oozed comfort and confidence. In the first act, the veteran principal’s dancing was natural and unaffected, almost in a playfully throwaway kind of way. It didn’t hurt matters much that she’s also a terrific actress — crystal clear in her actorly delivery without resorting to dramatic histrionics. In short, she was Giselle. In the iconic second act, her dancing flowed with an unforced spectral quality that merely suggested the vibrant young woman she once was. The effect was at once gorgeous and heartbreaking. As her love interest Albrecht, fellow principal Joo Won Ahn was effortlessly regal, but in a subtly human kind of way. He’s also a powerful and elegant mover and a generous partner. Together, he and Teuscher made for a truly handsome pairing. As Hilarion (the antagonist of the piece), soloist Patrick Frinette gave a beautifully etched performance — both in the precision of his dancing, as well as his detailed acting — that gave uncommon texture to a typically thankless role. And as Myrta the queen of the wilis, soloist Fangqi Li gave a commanding, technically impressive performance despite diminutiveness of her frame. Throughout, the corps was finely keyed into the overall production (Act One’s village scene unfolded organically, while Act Two was the very epitome of romantic classical ballet).

THE WINTER’S TALE
American Ballet Theatre at The Metropolitan Opera
Through July 5

Then there’s Christopher Wheeldon’s ballet adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale (RECOMMENDED), which Ballet Theatre premiered last night at The Metropolitan Opera (the production was originally presented by The Royal Ballet in 2014 and was previously seen in New York when the National Ballet of Canada brought it here in 2016). Unlike Giselle‘s relatively simple, straightforward story, the Bard’s sprawling, plot-heavy romance spans generations and lands, as well as features a slew of characters to keep track of. In order to meet the challenge, Wheeldon opted for a largely cinematic approach, similar to the one he employed in his productions of Cinderella and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, as well as his ventures into musical theater (e.g., An American in Paris, MJ). Unsurprisingly, he’s gathered most of his “usual suspects” to assist him here, notably the brilliant set designer Bob Crowley. Often times, however, it seems as if Wheeldon is more interested in efficiency and the logistics of telling the story — via choreographed set pieces, video design — rather than settling in with the characters and their relationships. Despite some effective movement motifs for certain characters (particularly for jealousy-ridden Leontes, danced with impressive commitment by Aran Bell on opening night), Wheeldon has tendency to choreograph through the music rather than to it, which may be due to the relatively fast tempos of Joby Talbot’s pleasantly evocative score (Talbot specifically composed it for this ballet). Thankfully, act two is the centerpiece that grounds and lets the ballet breathe — particularly the inspired pastoral ensemble number that explodes around an imposing sculptural tree, under which Florizel and Perdita’s young love blossoms (danced by Carlos Gonzalez and Catherine Hurlin with exquisite freshness). It’s here that Wheeldon hits the sweet spot between dance and storytelling. Rounding out the cast were Devon Teuscher and Christine Shevchenko — both as affecting as they could be — as Leontes’ severely wronged wife and faithful servant, respectively.